1984 Laser: Dying at Normal Speeds

pick up plate? fuel pump? a fuel problemm will slowly loose power then cut off, an electrical problem as a pickup plate will just shut quick,

"Jonathan Grobe" wrote

When's the last time this beast had a general tune-up? You know, plugs, wires, injector cleaner, air filter etc? Also, an elderly battery and/or alternator might be causing marginally low voltage. Often when cars get old they have multiple problems, none fatal in themselves, but in total add up to a sick puppy.

My mechanic obviously has problems fixing a car when it is working fine for him. When it has died and won't start are there any simple things I can do along the side of the road to determine what the problem is?

It takes fuel and spark for the engine to run. Pull the air cleaner and see if you are getting fuel. Pull a plug wire and see if you are getting spark. An inductive timing light or neon strobe light may help here....

I had this exact problem in my 1985 Omni GLH (2.2L turbo, same as your car). In my case it turned out to be bad pickups in the distributor, which I replaced with junkyard parts.

To diagnose this, turn the key on (but don't start the engine). Normally you'd hear the fuel pump prime. If it doesn't prime, it could well be the pickups. (You might have to have a helper listen to the pump, or connect a voltmeter to it.)

IIRC, after unplugging the bad pickups, the fuel pump would prime. That's probably how I diagnosed it. It was a long time ago so the memory's hazy. If you go to a junkyard to find new pickups, make real sure you know what yours look like, because there are at least two versions.